Thousands May Loose Rent Vouchers
Thousands May Lose Rental Vouchers
Because of a $45 million budget gap, the New York City Housing Authority may have to revoke rental-assistance vouchers from more than 10,000 low-income tenants, a drastic move that could cause families to lose their apartments.
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Ruby Washington/The New York Times
Izolda Mandelblat and her husband, Moisey Frenkel, immigrants from Ukraine, are among thousands in the city who face the prospect of losing rental help.
The federal government gave the housing authority less money for the voucher program, known as Section 8, than the authority expected. But the authority made matters worse by continuing to issue new vouchers until December, eight months after the government warned it to stop doing so because the program was likely to run a deficit.
Michael P. Kelly, the authority’s general manager, said that terminating vouchers would be a last resort. The authority has not decided who might lose their vouchers, but if the deficit is not closed, the cuts could begin this summer.
“This is a dire option for us that we’re hoping we’re not going to have to do,” Mr. Kelly said.
The agency is seeking federal and state funding to avert the voucher cuts. But the state is facing a huge deficit. Sandra Henriquez, an assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that HUD would review the housing authority’s books, but she added that “they cannot and should not expect that the federal government will cover the shortfall.”
As an alternative, the housing authority is considering reducing the value of each voucher, meaning that landlords, tenants or both would have to absorb the cost.
Under Section 8, residents typically pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, and the voucher covers the balance. In New York City, about 102,000 families now have vouchers, which are administered by the authority and allow families to live in units where private landlords accept Section 8 benefits. An additional 178,000 or so families live in public housing complexes owned by the authority.
After the authority voided 2,600 outstanding vouchers in December, prompting an outcry from affected families, it urged people to apply for public housing, although the waiting list is years long.
HUD provides money for the Section 8 vouchers and tells housing authorities the maximum number they can use. In May, HUD told the New York City Housing Authority it was in danger of exceeding its allotted number.
“What balances you are comfortable with, of course, is a local decision,” a HUD official, Mirza Negron Morales, wrote in a memo to the housing authority. “Our recommendation, based on your current level of funding and the data to date, is to stop issuing vouchers and maintain current leasing and cost levels for the remainder of calendar year 2009.”
The agency continued to issue new vouchers, about 50 a week, generally to emergency cases like homeless families, domestic violence victims and families under the supervision of the city’s child welfare system. “We wanted to help as many people as possible,” said Sheila Stainback, a housing authority spokeswoman. “We only issued vouchers to the most vulnerable.”
Historically, some vouchers that are issued are never redeemed because of the difficulty in finding a suitable apartment and a landlord who will accept vouchers. And every year, some families leave the Section 8 program. But last year, more landlords began to take Section 8 vouchers, and the attrition rate dropped to 3.5 percent from about 6 percent, most likely because of the weak economy.
“Looking at the scale of Nycha’s program,” Mr. Kelly said, using the acronym for the authority, “it was impossible for us to turn on a dime.”
In December, the authority finally stopped issuing new vouchers and voided the 2,600 unused vouchers. But outside of cases of fraud or evictions for breaking other program rules, officials said they could not recall having terminated vouchers already being used.
Judith Goldiner, a supervising lawyer at the Legal Aid Society in New York, said the prospect of terminating so many families’ vouchers was “inconceivable.”
“This is just a disaster,” she said. “We don’t know who could be impacted by it.”
The magnitude of the problem left several housing experts puzzled. New York City has exceeded its voucher cap only once before, by several hundred in 2005, according to Gregory Kern, an agency manager who oversees the Section 8 program
CARA BUCKLEY
Because of a $45 million budget gap, the New York City Housing Authority may have to revoke rental-assistance vouchers from more than 10,000 low-income tenants, a drastic move that could cause families to lose their apartments.
Enlarge This Image
Ruby Washington/The New York Times
Izolda Mandelblat and her husband, Moisey Frenkel, immigrants from Ukraine, are among thousands in the city who face the prospect of losing rental help.
The federal government gave the housing authority less money for the voucher program, known as Section 8, than the authority expected. But the authority made matters worse by continuing to issue new vouchers until December, eight months after the government warned it to stop doing so because the program was likely to run a deficit.
Michael P. Kelly, the authority’s general manager, said that terminating vouchers would be a last resort. The authority has not decided who might lose their vouchers, but if the deficit is not closed, the cuts could begin this summer.
“This is a dire option for us that we’re hoping we’re not going to have to do,” Mr. Kelly said.
The agency is seeking federal and state funding to avert the voucher cuts. But the state is facing a huge deficit. Sandra Henriquez, an assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that HUD would review the housing authority’s books, but she added that “they cannot and should not expect that the federal government will cover the shortfall.”
As an alternative, the housing authority is considering reducing the value of each voucher, meaning that landlords, tenants or both would have to absorb the cost.
Under Section 8, residents typically pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, and the voucher covers the balance. In New York City, about 102,000 families now have vouchers, which are administered by the authority and allow families to live in units where private landlords accept Section 8 benefits. An additional 178,000 or so families live in public housing complexes owned by the authority.
After the authority voided 2,600 outstanding vouchers in December, prompting an outcry from affected families, it urged people to apply for public housing, although the waiting list is years long.
HUD provides money for the Section 8 vouchers and tells housing authorities the maximum number they can use. In May, HUD told the New York City Housing Authority it was in danger of exceeding its allotted number.
“What balances you are comfortable with, of course, is a local decision,” a HUD official, Mirza Negron Morales, wrote in a memo to the housing authority. “Our recommendation, based on your current level of funding and the data to date, is to stop issuing vouchers and maintain current leasing and cost levels for the remainder of calendar year 2009.”
The agency continued to issue new vouchers, about 50 a week, generally to emergency cases like homeless families, domestic violence victims and families under the supervision of the city’s child welfare system. “We wanted to help as many people as possible,” said Sheila Stainback, a housing authority spokeswoman. “We only issued vouchers to the most vulnerable.”
Historically, some vouchers that are issued are never redeemed because of the difficulty in finding a suitable apartment and a landlord who will accept vouchers. And every year, some families leave the Section 8 program. But last year, more landlords began to take Section 8 vouchers, and the attrition rate dropped to 3.5 percent from about 6 percent, most likely because of the weak economy.
“Looking at the scale of Nycha’s program,” Mr. Kelly said, using the acronym for the authority, “it was impossible for us to turn on a dime.”
In December, the authority finally stopped issuing new vouchers and voided the 2,600 unused vouchers. But outside of cases of fraud or evictions for breaking other program rules, officials said they could not recall having terminated vouchers already being used.
Judith Goldiner, a supervising lawyer at the Legal Aid Society in New York, said the prospect of terminating so many families’ vouchers was “inconceivable.”
“This is just a disaster,” she said. “We don’t know who could be impacted by it.”
The magnitude of the problem left several housing experts puzzled. New York City has exceeded its voucher cap only once before, by several hundred in 2005, according to Gregory Kern, an agency manager who oversees the Section 8 program
CARA BUCKLEY
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